Gardening: Prepare your garden for winter storms
While this one missed us, the next one might not. Here are a few tips for preparing your plants for winter storms.
Last fall’s storm took down a lot of trees, and there will be some residual impacts on trees left standing in a grove. Over time, groves of trees build wind resistance as a group. When some trees in a grove fall, the remaining trees lose some of this protection and can be adversely affected by the next storm.
If you are still concerned about certain trees, contact an ISA-certified arborist for an evaluation before they get too busy. If you have power lines running through tree branches, check with your power company about removing them before winter storms.
We are way overdue for a cold, snowy winter. Wrap tall, thin shrubs, like arborvitae and yews, with a spiral of heavy twine or light ropes to keep the branches from being weighed down by snow. Once bent over, they usually don’t fully recover.
Trim down tea roses by half their height and mulch the graft point at the base of the plant with a foot or two of shredded pine needles or straw. This keeps the stems from whipping around in the wind and protects the sensitive graft point from deep cold.
Use evergreen trimmings from fall pruning work to cover any newly planted perennials and low-growing deciduous shrubs to reduce frost heaving that can pop the rootballs right out of the ground. If you have small, thin-branched trees like Japanese maples and dogwood, stage some long bamboo poles nearby so you can gently tap snow off the branches if we get a wet snow. Just tap the underside of the branch enough to get the snow moving. Wear a jacket with a hood so you don’t get snow down your neck; been there, done that.
Do you want to be a Master Gardener?
The Washington State University Spokane County Master Gardeners are accepting applications for the 2017 class until Oct. 31. Training will begin in January 2017 and run until April.
The Master Gardener Program provides research-based information and education on sustainable gardening practices to the public through its classes and Plant Clinic at the WSU Extension Office. This is a program for gardeners of any ability who enjoy learning more about gardening and then sharing that knowledge with their community.
The extensive training covers all facets of gardening, botany, soil management and using the resources of WSU to answer questions from the public. Successful applicants are expected to give back 40 hours of volunteer time each year.
You can apply at http://extension.wsu .edu/spokane/master- gardener-program/. If you are selected, the program will cost $275, but scholarships may be available.
Spokane’s Master Gardener Program began in 1973 and is the second oldest in the country. WSU started the program in 1972 in the greater Seattle area.
Pat Munts is co-author, with Susan Mulvihill, of the “Northwest Gardener’s Handbook.” Munts can be reached at pat@inland nwgardening.com.